Shehbaz Sharif elected new PM of crisis-hit Pakistan :::: Says "....it is a long and thorny journey full of hurdles, but....".

Shehbaz Sharif on Sunday was elected the new prime minister of Pakistan for a second time to lead a coalition government after he comfortably won a majority in the newly-elected Parliament.

He secured 201 votes to defeat PTI nominee. 

"....it is a long and thorny journey full of hurdles, but....countries that surmounted these challenges became one of the most going nations around the world,” he said.

Shehbaz highlighted in his maiden speech that the poor people were bearing the burden of electricity and tax theft.

Shehbaz, 72, who was the consensus candidate of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), received 201 votes in the 336-member house as against 92 votes polled by his challenger Omar Ayub Khan of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).  

“Electricity and tax thefts are a matter of life and death for Pakistan […] and I want to say that God willing we will remove this cancer from its roots and make the country stand on its feet," he said. 

Shehbaz has promised that his government would provide subsidies directly to farmers and a package on solar tube-wells will be soon announced.

“The seed mafia will be eliminated and we will import seeds from the best countries in the world and provide them to farmers,” he said, adding that the first of these seeds would be provided free of cost.  Shehbaz further stated that his federal government would work with all four provinces in the sectors of agriculture.

It's not without good reason, observers say Pakistan is passing through a challenging time. A divisive and polarising politics, economic uncertainties, and the continuing threat of violent extremism are some of the fault lines that impede the country’s path to stability.